NYC02LA134

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 172 · West Milford, NJ · July 11, 2002

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 11, 2002, 13:45 local (17:45 UTC)
Place
West Milford, NJ
Injuries
3 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N1502ECessna 172
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report June 25, 2003
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
FAA\FSDO
FAA report
20020711032659A
Case key
55165

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The flight instructor's improper recovery from a bounced landing.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown
Recovery from bounced landing - improperPilot in command(cfi)Cause

Analysis

The flight instructor over flew the airport, and identified runway 24 as the favored runway. He entered left downwind, selected flaps to 10 degrees, turned base, and then final. On final, the VASI was white over white. The airplane touched down, bounced "high" into the air, and then touched down nosewheel first about 20 feet left of centerline. The airplane "veered" left, exited the runway, and continued approximately 470 feet before coming to a stop on the parallel taxiway. The pilot did not experience any preimpact failures with either the engine or the airframe, and elected not to execute a go-around because of a cliff located at the departure end of the runway. A weather observation taken 8 minutes before the accident about 21 miles to the southeast of the accident site recorded the wind as 030 degrees at 7 knots.

Factual narrative

On July 11, 2002, about 1345 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172, N1502E, was substantially damaged while landing at the Greenwood Lake Airport (4N1), West Milford, New Jersey. The certificated flight instructor, and both passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the promotional flight that departed the Essex County Airport, (CDW), Fairfield, New Jersey, about 1315. A flight plan was not filed, and the flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the flight instructor, he over flew 4N1, and identified that the winds favored runway 24. He entered a left downwind for the runway, selected flaps to 10 degrees, turned base, and then final. On final, the VASI was white over white, and just prior to touching down, the pilot noticed the airspeed increase from approximately 75 to 90 knots.

The airplane touched down, bounced "high" into the air, and then touched down nosewheel first about 20 feet left of centerline. The airplane "veered" left, exited the runway, and continued approximately 470 feet before coming to a stop on the parallel taxiway. The pilot added that he did not experience any preimpact failures with either the engine or the airframe, and that he elected not to execute a go-around because of a cliff located at the departure end of runway 24.

A weather observation was taken 8 minutes before the accident at CDW, which was located 21 miles to the southeast of the accident site. According to the observation, the wind was 030 degrees at 7 knots, visibility was 10 miles, sky clear, temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point was 43 degrees Fahrenheit, and the altimeter setting was 30.11 inches of mercury.

Aircraft

Registration
N1502E
Reported as
Cessna 172
Category
Airplane
Serial number
17271026
Airframe hours
7,256
Engine
Lycoming O-320-H2AD, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Other work use · Part 91
Operator
Caldwell Flight Academy, doing business as Caldwell Flight Academy
Registered owner
Airam Leasing, Inc.
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · May 16, 2002 · 70 hours before
Departed
CDW · Caldwell, NJ
Destination
4N1 · West Milford, NJ
Airport
4N1 · Greenwood Lake, runway 24, 4,000 × 60 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Flight instructor
Age
45
Injuries
None
Certificates
Commercial, Flight instructor
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
Last flight review
November 15, 2001
Seat
Left
Flight hours
720 total · 650 in this make and model · 620 as pilot in command · 125 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
30° at 7 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
72 °F, dew point 43 °F
Altimeter
30.11 inHg
Observed at
CDW, 21 nm away

Docket · 3

The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 19, 2003, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 888 KB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.